A Spark of Hope
by bubblygal92
Summary: Sequel to "See the Future". The Doctor meets Rose. Except it's when he used to wear a green velvet frock coat and dress in Edwardian clothes. A random meeting on Christmas in Paris gives him the spark that just might save him. 9/Rose 8/Rose


**Disclaimer: Doctor Who is property of the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I get paid for it.**

**A/N Sequel to 'See the Future'. At the end of that story, I asked if you wanted a sequel. A lot of you mentioned Rose meeting the Eighth Doctor. So, here it is, Rose and Eight meet on a Christmas night in Paris.**

**Set between 'The Doctor Dances' and 'Boom Town' for the Ninth Doctor, Rose and Jack. Set post-TV movie for the Eighth Doctor.**

**Hope you enjoy it. Forgive me for any historical, grammatical or continuity errors. They are completely unintentional.**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**A Spark of Hope **

_Nothing is ever truly forgotten...not really. And if something can be remembered...it can come back._

It had been in one of his "boring" Academy books. He had read it when he had been young; too young to understand. Until his last body, he still wouldn't have understood it. But now, things were different. He was different. The older, wiser Oncoming Storm and Time's Champion.

Plus, as slow a start as this incarnation had had, his time senses were unusually sharp. Sometimes he would read timelines without even thinking. Other times, he would be deliberate. A quick glimpse in the future and a nudge in the right direction and he had managed to influence time quite easily without interfering. Interfering didn't bother him but he would rather not have the Time Lords pull him onto Gallifrey. Again.

And, he had promised Romana to stay out of trouble. His old friend and the current Lady President of the High Council, while often amused at his antics, had warned him to tone down his interfering. He had been tempted to remind her of all the times she had interfered when they had been travelling together but he kept quiet. The President's word was akin to law and he would know; he had been named President twice.

But all of that wasn't particularly relevant as to why he was reminded of that old line from his Academy book. Not like he thought back to his childhood too often. Too many painful memories. But that line was running through his mind constantly like a mantra and he was wary.

His sharp time senses were often uncontrollable if a person had an unusually attractive timeline. Like a moth to a flame, he was drawn to complexity. But today, on a dreary Christmas Day in Paris, he trudged along peacefully, not looking for trouble. For once, he was not in any hurry, just content to take it slowly.

However, the same couldn't be said for the blonde girl who was running right at him. He paused in his steps and inclined his head to glance at her curiously. He had to stifle back a gasp as an onslaught of timelines hit him directly. She was glorious, ablaze and brighter than all of the Christmas trees he had passed in the City of Lights.

She, however, had no idea of the man gaping at her as she ran past him and turned the corner. The Doctor stared after her with his mouth open. She had waltzed in and out of his life in a breath but she had even managed to steal that breath.

Not caring that he looked like an idiot standing in the middle of a snowy path staring at a corner, he tried to recall her face. Try as he might, he couldn't. All he could remember was the golden hair and the pink cheeks as she ran. She hadn't looked terrified and there was nothing chasing her. But she had quite reminded him of himself; the way she ran, it was as if she was running just because she wanted to. He knew the feeling very well.

He shook his head slightly and chuckled at himself. He was getting old, forgetting faces he had seen mere minutes ago. Casting one last longing look at the corner, he continued on his path that took him away from the mysterious blonde girl with the myriad of timelines wrapped around her.

* * *

Rose Tyler ran through the snowy streets of Paris on her own, feeling like a giddy child. The TARDIS had broken down and they had been forced to land suddenly and the place turned out to be Paris during the Belle Époque.

On hearing where they had landed, Jack had bounded to Moulin Rouge. He had hinted about taking Rose with him but one glare from the Doctor and he had abandoned the idea in favour of going by himself. The Doctor, still glowering at Jack's words, had retired to his usual spot under the TARDIS console, trying to fix what had gone wrong.

Rose had tried to keep him company, but after the third time she had almost fallen asleep, the Doctor had told her to go get some sleep.

"I'm not sleepy. I'm bored," Rose had pointed out.

"Well then go out," he suggested and then mentally smacked himself when she jumped up in excitement and ran to the wardrobe.

Why had he suggested that? Who knows what kind of trouble she would get in? She was jeopardy friendly as it is, but wandering around on her own in Paris at night during the Belle Époque, was like asking for trouble.

Still, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop her. He could go with her but he was uneasy as to why the TARDIS had just dumped them here. So lost in his internal debates he was, that he was shocked out of his Time Lord brain when Rose appeared in the console room.

His mouth fell open as he looked at her.

"Is it too much?" she asked, squirming under his gaze. She glanced back down at her green and golden brown gown. It had a low neckline and was made of rich silk with beads woven into it. She was wearing long, white suede gloves and was holding an ostrich feather fan. Her hair was held back in a pretty bun and her makeup was done to suit the era. She shifted again and the Doctor's eyes snapped back to hers.

"Er, looks nice," he managed to say as casually as possible.

"Thanks," Rose said, trying to not sound as disappointed as she felt. She had been going for something more than 'looks nice'. "I feel like Belle from Beauty and the Beast."

"Ah yes, nice story," he said, glad for a different topic that didn't involve him thinking about how the rich silk clung to every womanly curve of her body. "Written in 1740, more than a century and a half before where we are now. Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve wrote the first version of that story. Of course, it's changed over the years now. Made more Disney-friendly," he explained.

Rose nodded, only half-listening. "Uh-huh, I'll see you later," she said, moving to the door.

"Be careful," he called after her, trying to not let his worry show.

A wave was what he got in reply.

* * *

Brushing snow from his green velvet frock coat, the Doctor wandered through the streets of Paris, his mind still occupied with the girl. He swore he didn't remember her face but there was something familiar about her. He glanced at his pocket watch and saw that it was almost midnight.

Shrugging to himself, he decided to head back to the TARDIS. Get some warm tea and maybe listen to some jazz. Nodding to himself at his plans, he looked up from his watch and straight ahead.

And there she was, standing in the falling snow, her head tilted back and her eyes closed with a content smile on her face. He tucked the watch back into his waistcoat and walked slowly toward her. She looked so peaceful, so happy almost in contrast to the many conflicting futures that he saw in her.

She was lovely, of course, dressed in rich green silk, holding a fan that was now hanging at her side. She was not of this era, he realised. There was just something about her. Several memories pulled at his head at that phrase and he ignored them as he reached her.

Her eyes opened and they looked at him in surprise. "Hello," he said, just because it felt like the right thing to say.

"Hello," she smiled shyly.

"May I ask why a beautiful lady like yourself is standing out in the snow all by herself?" he asked as he took her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it.

She blushed deeply at that and he stared at her in fascination. "I ran past you earlier, didn't I?" she asked, not answering his question.

"Yes, quite," he answered, frowning slightly. But then he smiled. "Lovely night for a run, I should imagine."

She laughed and he laughed with her. Because it felt good. Because it felt right. "I was running because it was fun," she said. "Great big, empty street in Paris. How could I resist?" she asked teasingly.

He smiled widely at that. He has been right; she wasn't of this era, which meant she was time-travelling. But she didn't look like any Time Agent he had ever met. Plus, it didn't seem like she was too far from the future. Maybe the 20th or the 21st century Earth.

There was a different option which would explain precisely why her timelines were so mixed up but he didn't want to consider it. As long as he pretended that it wasn't a viable option, he could get to know this beautiful creature without fear of repercussion. After all, interacting with his future was strictly forbidden.

"Jelly baby?" he asked her, pulling out a white paper bag.

She smiled and picked out the orange one and he wondered why he wasn't surprised at that. It was like he had known she would choose that one. He stopped thinking about it immediately; it would only confirm his suspicions.

"Didn't know they made jelly babies yet," she said shrewdly.

He smiled. "You're quite sharp, aren't you, my dear?" It was a rhetorical question.

She grinned. "So, are you a Time Agent?" she asked him.

He wanted to scoff at that and say that he was a Time Lord but something made him pause. "Ah, no, just a traveller," he said.

"Like me and my friends then," she nodded. "My name's Rose," she said.

"John," he lied easily.

"My friend goes by that name sometimes," she said, probably as her way of saying she knew he was lying.

"It's a very common name," he countered with a grin, refusing to give in to the sinking feeling that told him that he was right; she was a companion. His companion, in the future. And not too far off either, if he read the timelines correctly, which he could do quite well in this incarnation.

She nodded with a small smile. "I guess so," she murmured.

"Aren't you cold?" he asked her with a slight frown.

"Nope," she grinned. "All that running helps," she said cheekily.

"Yes, I imagine it does," he murmured.

"So, why are you all by yourself for Christmas?" she asked him.

"I didn't know it was Christmas," he said and he really hadn't until he had left the TARDIS.

"But still," Rose said. "No one should be on their own for Christmas."

He smiled in amusement. "You're on your own," he pointed out.

"Suppose so," she said and then smiled. "Well then, Happy Christmas," she said and to his great surprise, kissed him lightly on the mouth.

He was too shocked to even respond but she pulled away and smiled brightly at him. "See ya!" she grinned and took off running.

It felt like the kiss had sparked a fire inside him. He fought off a shudder as he felt the dread of distant war bells. It was coming, he knew. But it looked like there was hope after all. "Rose..." he murmured. "Rose..."

* * *

Back in the TARDIS, Rose found the Doctor still under the console, trying to repair it. He looked up and grinned at Rose when she came in. Rose smiled back as she tossed her fan on the jumpseat and stretched slightly.

It was then that the Doctor felt something at the back of his mind. The familiar silhouette of the woman standing in the snow at Christmas in the streets of Paris. He quickly ducked his head as he turned a deep red. Rose had kissed him. Years and years ago for him but just right now for her.

No wonder the TARDIS had dumped them here. It was a paradox waiting to happen. He had felt the war coming then but he had been holding onto the hope of survival. Perhaps he had forgotten what it was like to really want to live.

And Rose had shown him just that. A small kiss from a familiar stranger on Christmas had changed his life irrevocably.

"I'm heading to bed," Rose announced. "Night."

"Night," he called, not turning around to look at her. He didn't think he would have been able to stop himself from continuing that kiss from so long ago if he laid his eyes on her now. As she disappeared into the depths of the TARDIS, the Doctor slowly climbed out from under the console.

He would never be able to thank Rose for giving him that spark of hope that was vital for him to survive the Time War. Not to mention everything she had done to make him better since meeting him.

No, he could never repay her for that. But he could show her all the beauty in the universe. He could show her his love through all the places that they went to and the people that they saved.

Satisfied, he turned to the console. He would start by taking her to one of the most beautiful planets in the universe. He smiled and began to set the co-ordinates for Woman Wept.

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**A/N And the end it is. So, how did you like it?**

**The Time War has little to no canon information so it's like a free reign for fanfic writers. **

**The Doctor sort of hinted that the TARDIS saved him but well, Rose is the Bad Wolf so she must have had a hand in his survival. It's my headcanon and I refuse to let go of it.**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed the one shot. I know a lot of you asked for the fourth and the seventh Doctor and I will write something if it comes to me.**

**Surprisingly enough, I have a story about the Second Doctor in mind. Let me know if you want to see it.**

**As always, I love your reviews. **

**Cheers x**


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